Comprehensive advice: Putin urged the regions not to delay the construction of cultural facilities

The regions should not delay the completion of the construction of cultural facilities. This was stated by Vladimir Putin on June 25 at a meeting where they discussed the appearance of new cultural, educational and museum complexes in several cities of the country at once: in Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo and Sevastopol. In general, work is progressing rapidly, but in some cases the difficult geopolitical situation is hindering. Nine of the 12 facilities in Sevastopol have been completed due to shelling and regular UAV attacks. About how the construction is progressing and what benefits it will bring to the regions — in the material of Izvestia.

What cultural facilities are being built in Russia

The President held a videoconference meeting on the creation of new cultural, educational and museum complexes in Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Kemerovo and Sevastopol. Large-scale construction has been underway here since 2018. Vladimir Putin said that such a project is of great importance for all residents of the country.

— We are creating modern exhibition spaces, art and choreography schools, concert and theater halls in order to make a vibrant, rich cultural life, interesting creative events, lectures and master classes more accessible to the citizens of our country, so that people, especially young people, could at home, in their region, at the very to study creative professions at a high level," the Head of state noted.

Currently, 33 out of 46 cultural and educational complexes have already been built. Despite the fact that the pace of construction varies from region to region, it is unacceptable to delay the completion of facilities, Putin stressed.

The total area of the complexes is 618,000 square meters, said Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin. According to him, this project has become the largest cultural construction in the country's history.

"We hope that all the facilities that are being created within the cluster will become new cultural symbols of Russia," he added.

Currently, over 8,000 people work on construction sites. Despite a number of difficulties related to the pandemic and foreign policy pressure, the construction is scheduled to be completed in 2026. Today, more than 70% of the facilities with a total area of 309 thousand square meters have been commissioned.

10 out of 13 have been commissioned in Vladivostok, including a branch of the Choreographic Academy, the Central Music School and the Russian Institute of Performing Arts.

12 of the 14 facilities have been built in Kaliningrad, including a branch of the Tretyakov Gallery. The Higher School of Musical and Theatrical Arts, opened this year, will begin the educational process on September 1, 2025, and the branch of the Bolshoi Theater in Kaliningrad is 58% ready.

Nine out of 12 facilities have been completed in Kemerovo.

— The educational process has been organized at the choreographic academy and in the buildings of music schools, and conditions have been created for students to live. An apartment building for teachers has been commissioned this year. The construction readiness of the facilities is more than 59%," Khusnullin specified.

Meanwhile, in Sevastopol, this figure is lower — only two out of seven. This is due to shelling and regular attacks by UAVs. Despite this, all facilities are planned to be completed on time in 2026, the deputy chairman of the government stressed.

— This year, in the fall, we plan to launch a museum complex. Here we are constantly hampered, of course, by shelling, attacks by various means, by unmanned aerial vehicles. Despite this, construction is underway. We plan to commission this facility next year. Readiness is 67%. All difficulties have been overcome, the work is set up. This is a complex technological facility located in a beautiful location on Cape Khrustalny," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

The importance of cultural sites for regions

Alexey Besprozvanikh, Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, said that more than 1.5 thousand jobs had been created in the cultural cluster. According to him, the construction gives the region a new impetus for development. Elena Pronicheva, General Director of the Tretyakov Gallery, clarified: the unique exhibition halls of the Kaliningrad branch of the museum make it possible to exhibit the most ancient and iconic artistic masterpieces. Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova said that the opening of the branch was a gift for all residents of the region and its guests. The first project was the exhibition "Five Centuries of Russian Art".

— We are very pleased with the high attendance: 30 thousand people have already visited the gallery since its opening. We expect that at least 200,000 visitors will come to the gallery by the end of the year," the minister said.

The cultural and educational complex on Eagle's Nest Hill in the center of Vladivostok will become an ornament to the region and increase the tourist flow, emphasized Oleg Kozhemyako, Governor of Primorsky Krai. Today, there are 1.5 thousand people on the construction site, who have completed the facilities by 37% during this time.

In Kemerovo, the opening of educational buildings of the branches of the Central Music School, the Moscow State Academy of Choreography and the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts provided new educational places for young people in the region, said the head of the region Ilya Seredyuk.

And the Choreographic Academy in Sevastopol has already started its work. Since the opening, about 10 performances have been staged with full halls, reported Mikhail Razvozzhaev, the governor of the region.

The creation of cultural and educational clusters will support the regions in terms of new jobs and tourism development, Lilia Gumerova, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, told Izvestia. According to her, this project will not only create space and infrastructure, but also fill them with very deep content.

— You know, when I was in Vladivostok, I visited one of these institutions, which has already been put into operation. And the guys in various fields — ballet, fine arts, cinematography — receive education there. This is a unique space with state-of-the-art equipment of the highest class and acoustics. We walked like in a museum," the senator shared her impressions.

In conclusion, Vladimir Putin asked the heads of regions and members of the government to create the most favorable conditions for the work of specialists in new cultural institutions. "This includes the level of wages, housing, and so on. Because otherwise it will be very difficult or practically impossible to form capable teams of the highest level and class," the president concluded.